Box-folding machine.



B. W. LABDMBARDE. BOX FOLDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 16. 1903.

Patented Max: 23, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

3 nun n to? E. W. LABOMBARDE- BOX FOLDING MAGHINE. I APPLICATION FILED MAY 16. 1903.

915,971 Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

' 3SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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I .E. W. LABOMBARDEJ BOX FOLDING- MACHINE.

v APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1903. Q v 915,971; r I Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. v

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for feeding ,of'Nashua, in the copnty of Hillsboro and State of New Hampshire, have invented cer-' sively to the-pasting,

'bility, and thisdifhcu-lty is increased when it" practical for feeding box blanks, -Jeither i n that they are notorg-am'zed to operate upon relatively flexible stock, successi'vellyl1 embo nnent. of the invention, by supporting apile of separate blanks upon a su port conyield, and hence, to preserve the pro er thinness of the passageway, .I locate be ow UNITED STATES:

P TEN OFFICE.

j ELIE w. L BoM'BA ann, or NASHIiA, New HAMPSHIRE.

BOX-FOLDING MACHINE.

Tocll whom it may concem: r f i I Be it known that L'ELLE VJ. LABOMBARDE',

tain new and useful'Improvementsin' Box- Foldin Machines, of which the followingis a's peci cation.

- his invention has relation to boxmaking machinery, and more particularly to mech anisnis for feeding separate blanks succesfolding and pressing mechanisms. a "1 Y 4 Y Box' blanks are made of relativelythin paper. or cardboard, which are difficultto eed on account of their thinnessandflexiis desired to feed them rapidly and continu- Varions devices have been proposed I amphlets, and relatively thick blanks \vhic 1 are fairly rigid, or for feeding sheets intermittently, but these ar not thin' sheets or "are incapable of feeding the blanks with the rapidity, and accuracy that is essential in mechanisms such as must be employed in machines for which my invention 1s applicable."v My invention is designed and has for its object to accomplish the feeding'of separate box blanksof various widths and of thin andi an with great rapidity and accuracy-J is is accom lished, according to the illustrated sisting of a plurality of continuous y moving belts. The front edges of the blanks in the pile engage a stop, thelower edge of which 1s separated from the planeof the belts by a narrow assageway or throat adequate to permit t e passage of a singleblank, but too small to permit the passage of two superini posed blanks. The belts extend for some distance beyond the stop so that, as the lowest blank in the pile'is carried through the passageway, it is supported and prevented from bending until it is grasped by other instrumentalities in the machine, The belts themselvcsare flexible and'area'dapted to the stop, which is in the form ofa finger, a roll upon which the top stretchesof the belts rest to revent their sagging, and form on said roll a circumferential or peripheral thereto by a clutch 15.

actuated by a'pivoted lever 16, and a i'od 17 Specification of LettersPatent. "Patented March 23, icon. Application flied May 1c, 1903. Serial No. 157,380.

passageway at which time the weighti of. the pile of blanks is removed from: the projecting;

portion, I em loy f one or more Ipressfers which preferab y take the-form of roll rsgto.

asandafter it emerges through the throatyor.

engage .the upp'er faces of the-blanks and"- press them against the belts. ##At'the end df the u er stretches of the belts. are'coacti PEI 33g rolls w to'lthe other instrumentalities which 'form fa, partof themachine; .On the accompanying 'drawings -Fignre; 1 represents amachine having feeding mech anismfle'mbodying the invention. represents 'a plan view of the machine.- I 3. represents a longitudinal section ,ofthat portion of the feeding mechanism which con-r vveyseach, blank from the initial fee 'ch grip the blanks and pass them on mechanism to the instrcmentalities by whififi it isfoldiidand compressed. Fig. 4 illus- .trates in side elevation the initialfeeding mechanism; Fig. 5 represents the-same in plan' view., Figfi'represents a section on the line 6,6of Fig. 3. 7 represents a section on the line 7'.-7 of Fig. 3. p

In .the o eration of the macliineitself, it will be un erstood .thattheblanks'are fed automatically to the pasting or gluing de vices and are carried therefromto the mechanism which folds the two flapsof the b'ox,

one upon the other, and compressesv the over lap portions to cause them toadhere.

ri grown in Figs. 1 and 2, the machinaas a whole, includes a frame consisting of side bars 10, 10 and cross-bars 1-1, 11, supported by standards o r uprights' 12, 12. The initial feeding mechanism islocated at oneend of the .machine. At said end, there are secured to the frame brackets 22, in which is journaled a shaft 13, having loosely mounted thereon a pulley. 14 adapted to be connected This clutch may-be extending to the front of the machine. The pulley 14 is driven by a belt 18 from a prime power shaft 19, journaled on brackets on the standards 12. The shaft 19 is providedwith 'fast and loose belt-pulleys 20, .21.

bearings in the side bars 22, it bein parallel From this shaft 19 are driven all of the'lnova ble instrumentalities for operating upon the blanks. A third shaft 23 is ournaled in' with that at 13. To these two sha ts 23, 13 i are splined a plurality of pulleys tr [wheels stop or abutment for the pile of blanksconto up convey the blanks in succession to thenext instrumentality which operates :upon them. The pulleys 24, 25 are adjustable longitudinally upon the shafts 113, 23 to accommodate blanks of different lengths in the formation of larger'oi'smaller boxes. Supported upon cross-'bars :28, 29 are. two adjustable boards .or guides 30,..31, which constitutera trough or guide for the blanks. The p 2931c supported by posts 32,33 respectively, secured at their lower ends to the brackets '22 and'adjustable longitudinally there'oh I Arranged immediately below the upper stretches of the conveyers. 26, and aidiii in "the support of the latter, there is a r01? 34 which, is journaled in ran Immediately above this -.flange,'there is a sisting of an. upright finger or bar 36,whose lower end is slightly elevated-therefrom sufiiciently to form a throat or I assa ewa for the assage of a singleblanli. fiiiger is ad justably sup or ted in a guide formed in a cros'sba r 37, a justably secured atv its ends ht posts38attached to the brackets Ii 22. T

y The finger 36 of the roll 34 adjusted with great nicety. and the peripheral flange 361 form coactiiig members for .permittin and their ends resting against the finger 36. The

roll 34 is driven at a peripheral speed equal to that of the conveyers 26, by a belt 41, driven by a pulley 42 on the shaft 13. As the blanks are fed one by onebetween the finger 36 and the roll, they are carried to a pair of enacting-rolls 43. These rolls are rovided with intermeshin gears 44 on their iront ends, the '11 per rol bein provided on its rear end wit a ulley 45, riven by a belt 46 from a large pu ley 47 on the shaft 13-. These two rolls are placed close to the roll 23 so that the blank willbe properly delivered to them. In order, however, that there shall be no danger of an improper presentation bf the blanks to the. rolls 43, and to hold the blanks against the conveyers, there arearranged, above the upper'stretch of the concross-bars 28,

belts to be so e cross-bar37 has a bracket39 downward through which a screw is assed into an enlargement on the upper'en of the Jfin er 36, so'that the said finger may be verticaT journaled cross-shafts 491, whose ends I are supported by the guide-bars '30, 31-. The

adjustable rollers 48 are. adjustable toward the shaft 23,

and from the abutment 36 and respectively. The roll 48, which is nearest the finger or abutment 36, engages the blank.

as its end emerges from under the abutment 36. As the blanks leave the initial feeding mechanism, one end of the longer flap of each one is coated with paste by any suitable -meclianism; As the blanks emerge from the rolls 43, 43,"they are engaged by a second feeding mechanism comprising parallel endless conveyers which receive the blanks and carry them through the devices whichiold over the flaps along the scored 01' creased lines, I In actual practice, two of these endless -c onveyers,. as indicated at 60, 60, are sufficient.

two different lines is an important feature, as it insures the passage of the blank through the machine'without danger of its becoming dislocated; and further the adjustability 01' the two pairs of coacting belts permits the placed that their outer edges will registerwith the scored lines on which the flaps are to be folded. Said convcyers zontal plane with the conveyers of the feeding mechanism. They are stretched around wheels or. pulleys 61 on theshaft 54, at the receiving end of the machine, and around pulleys forming a portion of the compression mechanism, which will be subequently'described. It is sufiicient at present to. state The employment of two separated conveyers for grasping each blank. on brackets 35,. 35 and, "which has a;circumferential flange 361:;ar-I ed between the .two iime'r .conveyers: 26 an projecting upward so that said convey ers J arev substantially tangential to its periphery.

have their upper stretches in the same horithat these belts are caused to travel in the direction of the arrows in 4. The belts and the pulleys upon which they are supported areadjustable toward and item each other to accommodate blanks of different sizes. Thetwo belts 60 .60 are kept taut by belt-tighteners, indicated as a whole in Fig. 1 at 62. Each ti htener consists of a lever 63 having a wheel 64 loosely engaging the belt-con'veyer and'a weight 65, connected by a flexible cord 66 passing over anidler 67 to the end of the lever 63. f

' Coacting with the conveyers 60 and mov ing at the samejspeed, are two endless conveyers 7 4, 74 passing around the wheels 72,

which are adjustably mounted upon a'shaft 77 yieldingly j ournaled in bearings 761. Said conveyers 74 are also supported by wheels-75 adjustable on a shaft 76. Power is supplied to thesha'ft 77 and to the shaft 54in any con.-

venient manner. 1t will be understood that all of the wheels, which su port the beltsfil),

'60 and 74, 74, are 'adjusta le so that blank'sg f of greatly differing widths maybe treated by the machine. The parallel coactingstretehesv of the belts or oonveyers 60, 60

caused to grip the blanks between them by reason of a series of pressure rollers' 80 placed and a series of pressure rollers 81 above,

and.74, 74 are.

,said crb'isbars 84 and 87 being supported by shr n ra e i 1 d fi 'en answ rs ("wev the faces of the blanks.

-conveyers;are.caused to gri the blanks and and 7f1 are formed ofv such: materialfan d in,

strunientalities, which operate upon them,

matic box machine, the combinationof the following elements, viz: a continuously movlowermost blanks of said placedbe'low the said stretches, as shown in yflliese rollers, asillustrat'ed in 6, are, journalcd in ,the sides of U-shaped angle 2r' ,1 e anslebaisfif re rpe by hangers $6 from crc ssba1rs 84=, fanl l the angleibars; 83 are supported by crossbars 87;,1

aup shts-fi-a i s son t h s rolls}; h

suchjw ay 'tl at theyare: not-liable. change ditions, as -to; interfere with their a ordingthe' needed support to the blanks inth'e 'roper line of, conveyance. ,Preferablyj each con ve'yerconsists of a plurality of layers of a strong, substantially non-extensible duck-or canvas, stitched'to ether and saturated and cemented. together y a suitable flexible-cement such as a substance containinglrubber. The operative faces, o'f the 'conve'yers are coated with a la er of this substancg'so that they afiord a fr'ctional'surface for engaging I have found that rubber cement, consisting of caoutchouc, gasolene, or naphtha and shellac, forms a suitable substance for the purpose stated.

The feeding mechanism, as herein set forth,

is capable of delivering ractically a continuous stream of box blan s to the various inwith the greatest ralpidity and accuracy.

Having thus exp alned the nature of the.

ing and using the sanie, although Withoutattempting to set forth ll of the forms inwhich it may be made,'or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is: I

V 1 1n a blankfeedin mechanism for the rapid and continuous delivery of paper blanks to the gluing and folding devices of an autoing support arranged to. carry a pile of blanks thereon and having a friction surface for successively engaging and feeding the pile, means for imparting movement to sai sup ort, a single normally stationary depending ger located intermediate of the lateral'boundaries of said support, said finger servin' unaided to control the'passage of the blan s as they are fed by said support, and means for adjusting said finger with relation to said support so as to permit the passage of a single ank at a time said support being also arranged to carfy the separated blanks "after they sue- 1 cessively pass' said finger. l

2. In an automatic blank-feeding appa-l 'ratus for rapidly and continuously feeding blanks, the combinationof a flexible endless carrier, the upper stretchof which forms a flat surface for supporting a pile of blanks,

means for continuously moving said carrier,

, an adjustablefingei separated from the upper stretch of the: carrier to. form a passageway v or throat forthe'pa'ssage of single blanks sue-- cessiv'ely from "the bottom ,of' the pile, and a roll haV'inga peripheral flangelocate'd' directly lbelo'w', sa'i'd p and tangential 't'o' the blank-supporting stir -r co act therewith face of the carrier, substantially assetforth."

3L In an: automatic: blank-feeding "app'a ratusfor rapidly and continuously feedmg blanks, the combination of "an endless 'ca'r '.1ier"forming aplane'surface for sup forting';

or blankaan adjustable fi ger Dc-m8 a pile I 'said carrier'between theei'lds oflthe above from to permitthe passage'ot single blanks successively from the bottom, of "the 'pile, said finger serv'in unaided t'o fcontrol the passageof the lfianksfland a roll'located upper stretchthei'eof and searate'd there-1 above said carrier in proximityto' said finger for engaging and pressing-each blank against said carrier, substantially as set forth.".'

4. In a machine of the character described,"

the combination with a roll having a peripheral flan e as at 361 and a finger as at36 separate "by a space, to permit the succes sivepassa e of single blanks, of a plurality of endless' belts having their up ppr stretches projecting onboth sides of 'the ger and arranged w th their supporting faces substantially tangential to the flange of said roll, 7

and'means'foradjusting said linger. toward and fromsaid roll and said belts.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with anre ndless carrier, and pulleys on which itis supported substantiall; iorizontally to produce a plane blank-supporting surface, of a finger arranged at su stantially right angles to the plane of the upper stretch of said carrier and located between the ulleys with its lower end separated from t e carrier by a space slightly reater than the thickness of a blank, said ger serving unaided to control the passage of the blanks whereb said carrier sustains a pile of blanks and feeds the bottom 'ones singly and successively under said fin er, a roll above said carrier to engage the and press it against the face of the said carqrier, and :a pair' of blank-gripping rolls to hlank "low: said finger for supporting the belts between said rotarymembers and having a peripheral portion tangential to the plane of the supporting surfaces of said belts, and rolls 5 flocated in proximity to said finger and bear-' ing downward constantly against the blanks on the. belts.

' the combination witha pair of feeding belts,

of a pair of belts arranged thereabout and haying'their lowest stretches in proximity to 1 and parallel to .the top stretches of the first mentioned belts,"and a plurality of loose roll- 8. In a machine of the character described, g i

ers with frames in which they are journaled arranged between the stretches'of each belt and above and below the coacting stretches of each pair of belts for causing said stretches to grip a blank between them, and carry it forward without dislocation or change of position.

9. In a blank feeding apparatus of the character referred to, the combination with the roll having a peripheral flange as at 361, the fingeror abutment thereabove, the yielding roller as at 49, and the'belt or carrier 41 whoseblank-supporting surface is substantially tangential to the periphery of the said flange, all arranged and: operating as de-' scribed. v

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ELIE W. LABOMBARDE.

Witnesses:

WINFORD LABQMBARDE, LEoN E. LABOMBARDE. 

